Six people arrested in connection with the abduction of a young black woman who was allegedly held and sexually assaulted for seven days may be charged under US race hate laws.

Megan Williams, 23, was discovered at a house near Charleston, West Virginia, on Saturday by police investigating an anonymous tip off. Officers believe she may have been lured to the house by a man she met on the internet.

Her captors allegedly beat, sexually assaulted, and stabbed her, repeatedly using a racial slur as they did so, according to her mother, Carmen Williams. She was forced to eat rat and dog faeces and drink from a toilet, according to the criminal complaint filed in the magistrates court.

The six people arrested include a mother and son and a mother and daughter and are all white.